The Ascent towards Supermind, Part II, Chapter XXVI - The Ascent towards Supermind 409

Whenever you hold out a certain emotion even though that emotion is present but I do not allow you to be over power that is a stoic level by endurance. There also you have indifference, whether I am honored or not. Although, I feel happy but I minimize that happiness by an effort, so the result is some kind of indifference but it’s a better kind of indifference than hardness.

When I use hardness, sometimes it’s even a pride. Even if I am honored, nothing happens to me that also could be indifference. But there is an inner satisfaction of pride and basically it is not real indifference at all, it is actually exaltation of my ego. I am not affected by it, so that indifference may be because of pride or may be because of cruelty. Some cruel men are very indifferent, whether some people are under going great strain, or torture, or great happiness, makes no difference. There is such a cruelty in the consciousness and some people in the path of hardness, they either develop cruelty, or develop hardness, or pride. These are perversions but some people are prone to this. In the name of indifference, in the name of detachment they fall into this kind of a pit. So, one has to guard against it. Some people, who are very hard, have a very gentle heart sometimes. They become hard afterwards. Instead of becoming much more divine they become harder because they undergo the practice of anasakti. They need to be told that this is not necessary, you can be very gentle and yet be equal-minded, yet be indifferent. One of the good methods is stoicism, − endure. But endurance is not something that is permanent. You can endure something by great effort but the effort does not continue all the time. Stoic detachment or stoic indifference that arises, detachment is the method. Indifference is the result by the method of detachment. Detachment is a process by which you withdraw yourself from the object of attachment, so that movement of withdrawal is detachment and the result that is obtained is indifference. Indifference is a state, where whatever happens does not make any difference to you in your psychological being. Since this state of indifference, this state endurance cannot last all the time, some people can endure for a long time, but even they have got limitations.

Effort as long as it’s an effort is always temporary. It’s not the natural state of being; it’s not like jal kamal vat, like a lotus in water. Whatever water flows on it, it remains dry, the water does not make it wet. Lotus does not have to make any effort. Its very nature is such that whatever wetness spreads over it, it remains without it. So stoic detachment does not bring you this result, it can be a stage in your development but it cannot be your real goal.

A higher level is an intellectual perception of justice in the world, we discussed justice recently. If you develop a perception in the world that everything in the world is in the right place, whether you recognize it or not but if you develop an intellectual perception, you will find that at that given moment everything is in the right place then detachment becomes much greater, much more quiet. You don’t need to have this endurance. Intellectually you perceive that every things happens, it had to happen, it has happened, so what? Today I am victorious, tomorrow I would not be, I need not be, there is no pride, there is no cruelty, there is no idea that I am something fundamental, I am in the center of things.

This brings up a very important point basically attachment arises out of putting ourselves in the center of things, which is called egoism.

Question: You have been referring to an object of attachment, all the while it could be an opposite feeling also, something which you hate or dislike. Similar emotions can also be entertained.

Answer: Quite true, it can be applied similarly,

Question: It’s applicable to both the states. This treatment is only one example but it can be applied to anything, where emotions are unequal. So when you see that you are not important in this world at all. If you see philosophically, largely you find that you are only in a corner. Actually every individual is in a corner in this world, anybody thinking that he is the center is a wrong perception, he does not really happen to be in the center. Even if you are honored by television, so that you are the central hero, it’s an illusion. Actually thousand people may voice your praise but if you look at the whole universe, where chorus of sounds are going on in the world, the universal rhythm, what is this voice of thousands of people praising you on the television,− nothing. You are in a corner actually, in the whole universal sounds this sound is simply a little burst, a cracker. If you look at the wide universe, you always find that everything in the world is in a corner. It is in a center only from a certain point of view that’s all. I am sitting here by virtue of what I am talking, I am in the center. But to my mind, you are the center because if you are not here my talk has no meaning. So, I am in a corner as far as I am concerned. You are the center and from the universal point of view, neither you, nor me is in the center, we are all in the corners. If you have this wide perception of things and realize that you are always in the corner then detachment, indifference will be automatic. You want to make an effort, you don’t want to endure, you just see really even if a thousand praises are showered on you, it will make no difference. It is only one little sound in the huge sound of the world which is going on. It will make no difference to you at all really when you see in this large vision. This is called the higher state of equality, higher state of detachment, higher state of indifference. Lower was the stoic detachment, this is called the philosophic detachment.